Hi, I'm Lisa Moody. I'm an
interior designer, and today
we're going to talk about
choosing hardwood floors.
It's the most important
decision that you'll make in
your interior. It's easier to
change out a couch or chair or
a desk, but a hardwood floor is
a really permanent fixture.
So where do you start?
First, you need to decide the
look that you're wanting to
achieve in your home. Oak is a
really popular choice right now
and a more plain board would
lend itself to a more
contemporary room.
Less knots, a select grade is a
really good choice. Now because
it is quite hardy, you're not
going to see the scratches and
dings as much.
Whereas walnut, although
it's just a stunning
piece of wood, it is
often a little bit more
temperamental. If you have a
dog or even young children,
it's probably not your best
choice because it will scratch
and ding more. Your oak can
also be a number one grade
and it would have one to two
knots per board and that would
be more of a modern farmhouse
look. A little bit more warm
and rustic.
Then you go down to something
like a fur or a pine, those
are really softwoods and they
will show the dings and
scratches. Maybe you want to be
able to see the character of
the wood and you want to be
able to see the scratches and
dings. And it would be
considered character grade
where it's been distressed
already. Or these soft
woods that will definitely
distress over time.
Another thing to consider about
your hardwood floors is the
finish. An oil-based finish has
really gained popularity, but
you need to make sure that you
reapply the oil every five to
six years. It can really soak
into the wood and can leave
your wood exposed to really
trapping some dirt.
The thing that I would consider
is the wire brushing.
You'd be hard pressed to find
oak that's not a little bit
wire brushed. But the deeper
wire brushing creates
areas that can trap the dirt,
especially on an oil floor.
Polyurethane finish, they've
come a long way with it.
You can get a water based
polyurethane that is more of a
natural product and it doesn't
soak into the wood the same way
an oil does. And it can fill
some of the wire brushed
grooves in order to prevent the
dirt from being trapped.
One more thing to consider is
if your floor is going to be
exposed to direct sunlight,
make sure that your finish has
a UVB blocker in it because the
direct sunlight will definitely
change the color of your floor.
Often get asked the difference
between an engineered wood or a
hardwood. An engineered wood is
a small layer of hardwood that
is glued to a plot.
This creates a more stable
plank and you get less
expansion or contraction.
If you want a hardwood, it's
really best to not have it on
radiant heat or in damp areas
of the home because it is just
more susceptible to expansion
and contraction. You would
choose a hardwood if you want a
finish on site so that you
have no breaks in
between the planks of wood.
But it's off in a little bit
more unstable of an environment
for finishing. So you might not
get a perfect finish like you
would with an engineered floor
that's been finished in a
factory. When considering the
budget of your hardwood floors,
you need to take a few things
into consideration. Where is
the floor manufactured?
The species of the wood.
Something like a black walnut
wood would be a lot more
expensive than a maple or
an oak or a fur.
Also you need to consider the
process of the finishing, if
you like, a style of wood that
needs to be bleached and
then stained and
then finished.
There's a lot more processes to
that, so it's gonna be more
expensive. The other thing that
you might want to consider is
the width of your wood.
We typically use a 6 to 7
inch wide wood for
smaller spaces.
You could go with a 5 inch wood
and that would probably reduce
the costs of the wood. For a
larger open spaces you could go
with a larger width of wood
and that would definitely bring
your cost up. The other thing
that you really want to
consider is just where you're
purchasing your wood from.
Make sure you're buying from a
reputable source.
Taking all those things that a
consideration, I'm sure you can
find something that'll suit
your budget.
Okay, I'm Stefan Tirschler.
I'm the product and
underwriting manager for Square
One Insurance, which basically
means I read a lot and create
new coverage for our customers.
Remember to talk to your home
insurance provider before you
begin any renovations or
improvements to your home. You
may need to update your policy
so the coverage remains
enforced during the project,
and you may need to account for
the difference between your old
materials and the new materials
if you want coverage to be in
place along the way. For
example, if your new flooring
is worth substantially more
than your old flooring, you
want to increase the
reconstruction cost on your
home to account for that new
flooring, just in case a loss
occurs. Some home insurance
providers will require that you
notify them of any planned
renovations to your home over a
set dollar value.
If you're not sure what that
dollar value is, talk to your
home insurance provider before
you begin any work. Home
insurance providers are careful
about homes that are under
renovation and unoccupied at
the same time. This is because
they're usually at much greater
risk of loss than a home that
you're living in during the
renovations. Makes sure you
tell your home insurance
provider in advance if you plan
on moving out during the work.
If you have any questions about
renovations and your home
insurance visit
squareoneinsurance .com.
I'll often get asked what my
pick is for wood flooring.
And I'd probably say the White
Oak. It's just a beautiful
wood that it's not wire brushed
too much, then there's not a
lot of places for the dirt to
get trapped. And it comes in a
variety of different stains.
I don't love the gray
stain. I just feel like it's a
trend that's just going to go
away and it's not a natural
color for this wood.
So once you've gathered all the
information that we've talked
about today, you just need to
go out and find a floor that is
durable enough for your
lifestyle and that it also
suits the aesthetic for your
home. Thanks for watching.
See you next time.